1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image shake correction apparatus and an image pickup apparatus, and more particularly relates to an image shake correction apparatus and an image pickup apparatus which use a voice coil motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a technique for correcting an image shake due to a camera vibration, such as a camera shake, an image shake correction apparatus using an impact actuator is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-333181. Further, an image shake correction apparatus using a voice coil motor is described in Japanese Examined Application Publication No. 2720955.
However, the image shake correction apparatus using the impact actuator, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-333181, may not be able to obtain sufficient vibration isolation performance.
On the other hand, the image shake correction apparatus using the voice coil motor, as described in Japanese Examined Application Publication No. 2720955, has sufficient anti-vibration performance but has a problem that the apparatus as a whole is enlarged.
FIG. 16 is a view showing a schematic configuration of an image shake correction apparatus 100 described in Japanese Examined Application Publication No. 2720955. When a voice coil motor 202 is driven, a bearing 205 formed integrally with a correction lens 201 is moved in the x direction along a shaft 204, so that the correction lens 201 is moved in the x direction. When a voice coil motor 203 is driven, a bearing 207 formed integrally with the correction lens 201 is moved in the y direction along a shaft 206, so that the correction lens 201 is moved in the y direction.
In FIG. 16, since the voice coil motor 203 and the shaft 204 are arranged side by side in the y direction and since the voice coil motor 202 and the shaft 206 are arranged side by side in the x direction, the apparatus as a whole is enlarged. When the apparatus as a whole is enlarged, the weight of the apparatus is increased, and hence a powerful and large voice coil motor needs to be used. This results in problems that the cost of the apparatus is increased and that the anti-vibration performance is also deteriorated.
FIG. 17 is a view showing a schematic configuration of an image shake correction apparatus 110 which is another conventional embodiment. When a voice coil motor 212 is driven, an image pickup element 211 is moved in the x direction along a shaft 214. When a voice coil motor 213 is driven, the image pickup element 211 is moved in the y direction. In FIG. 17, the voice coil motor 212 is arranged on the outer side of a shaft 215, and the voice coil motor 213 is arranged on the outer side of the shaft 214. Thus, the apparatus as a whole is enlarged by the amount corresponding to the voice coil motors 212 and 213. In addition to the problem, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 17, the heavy voice coil motors 212 and 213 are arranged on the outer side of the shafts 214 and 215. Thus, there is also a problem that the stability of the apparatus is insufficient and hence the anti-vibration performance is deteriorated.